Musings
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported Major League Baseball will soon begin cracking down on pitchers using illegal substances to help develop spin. As is usually the case, a bevy of articles on the topic will ensue. One of those people was Buster Olney.
Column: Rob Manfred must learn from baseball's mistakes of the past and affect serious discipline as the sport finally enforces the foreign-substance rule. https://t.co/gbXpiMQCL3 As it turns out, the first pitcher to be checked may be MLB's best pitcher, Jacob deGrom.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 15, 2021
Re-read that last line promoting the article. It says, “As it turns out, the first pitcher to be checked may be MLB’s best pitcher, Jacob deGrom.
Because ZERO context is provided for the reason wby, you let people’s imaginations run amok. Is MLB suspicious of deGrom? Is this based on velocity or spin rates? Are they doing it by team?
There are many plausible explanations, including what may be the real reason – deGrom is projected to start on the day MLB begins checking. However, you can’t get that from the tweet.
In all honesty, it’s difficult to discern from the article because it’s behind a paywall. Unless you pay for ESPN+, and it’s hard to discern why you would, you don’t know why Olney purposefully used deGrom to highlight MLB cracking down on cheating pitchers.
Keep in mind, if you go to probable starters that day, Gerrit Cole is also starting that day. This is the same Cole was was implicated for cheating many times over, and the same Cole who couldn’t answer a direct question on the topic.
Still, Olney opted to use deGrom who no one had suspected is cheating. He did it in a dishonest and sensationalist fashion to try to drum up interest in his article. Put another way Olney is using deGrom for his own benefit.
For implicating deGrom for his own gain, especially over those who have proof of their cheating, Olney owes deGrom an apology. As we’ve seen with Olney through the years, it won’t happen.
Jacob deGrom was the difference in this game for the New York Mets more ways than one. The only thing which could stop deGrom was himself.
For the first 4.1 innings, deGrom was simply unhittable, and were once again on the perfect game watch. That was until Wil Myers dribbled one against the shift for a hit.
Myers thought he could steal a base, but James McCann gunned him down. With that caught stealing, deGrom would face the minimum through six. Given how dominant he was even that seemed like a batter or two too many.
These pitches just ain't fair. ?
Eight Ks through 4 IP for deGrom. #LGM pic.twitter.com/A6nCLHCkN6
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2021
Of course, deGrom set all kinds of records. His 0.56 ERA though 10 starts is the lowest ever. He needed just 61.2 innings to reach 100 strikeouts which is the fewest innings to reach that mark. Oh, and by the way, he’s hitting .400 with an .840 OPS.
He went out there and beat the Padres every way imaginable. He allowed just the one hit over 6.0 innings walking none and striking out 10. He’d get the win because he actually got run support.
At first, it didn’t seem that would happen. Blake Snell, who was great his last game against the Mets, had a strong start to this game.
The Mets didn’t get a threat against him until the fourth. It started with a Jonathan Villar single. It’s not a stretch to say at that point in the game it seemed Villar was the only guy who was going to get a hit.
Villar was on second with one out after he stole second, and Francisco Lindor lined out. Snell completely lost the strike zone walking the bases loaded.
That’s when Dominic Smith has a terrible at-bat. Despite Snell losing the zone, he went to attack a tough slider out of the zone. He checked his swing leading to the inning ending 1-2-3 double play.
It was a really tough game for Smith. He was 0-for-4 with two GIDP. He’s slumping as he’s in a 1-for-13 funk.
This wasn’t the Mets last chance. Rather, it was them starting to get to Snell.
Kevin Pillar led off the fifth with a hustle double. His beating out Tommy Pham‘s throw proved serendipitous as Billy McKinney ripped a double down the first base line to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.
Jose Peraza drew a walk, and then Snell would balk to put runners on second and third. deGrom would deliver with a two RBI single giving the Mets a 3-0 lead.
? M-V-P pic.twitter.com/Y2wDMCabhS
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2021
For deGrom, that was more than enough support. However, deGrom would only go six because the flexor tendon in his elbow was bothering him leading him to take himself out of the game.
Perhaps it was deGrom out of the game. It could’ve also been Miguel Castro dealing with a neck issue which would knock him out of this game, but the Padres looked energized.
Jake Cronenworth hit a two run homer pulling the Padres within 3-2. After Castro walked Manny Machado, Luis Rojas pulled his ailing reliever for Seth Lugo.
To the surprise of no one, Lugo did the job retiring the next two to get out of the inning. What was a surprise was that was it for Lugo.
Aaron Loup started the eighth for the Mets. He’d exit the game with one on and two out. That’s when Rojas tabbed Edwin Diaz for the four out save. Jorge Mateo immediately stole second, but it was of little consequence as Pham flew out to end the inning.
Things got interesting in the ninth. Machado hit a two out single putting the tying run on base. Eric Hosmer pinch hit for Myers, and he put a scare into the crowd as he pulled a ball just foul. After that, Diaz got Hosmer to pop out to end the game.
The Mets are now a season high seven games over .500. However, it’s not too much celebrating as there’s reason for concern for deGrom and to a lesser extent Castro.
Game Notes: Luis Guillorme was activates off the IL, and Travis Blankenhorn was sent to Triple-A. The Mets claimed Nick Tropeano off waivers and sent him to Syracuse. Tommy Hunter was transferred to the 60 day IL.
One moment, you’re a player whose career is on the verge of ending before it really began. The next, you find yourself in the right situation, and you’re fulfilling your full potential.
That was the story with players like Jose Bautista and Justin Turner. However, it’s not a story we really see happen favorably to the New York Mets.
Enter Billy McKinney.
McKinney was the Oakland Athletics 2013 first round pick. While a prospect, he was involved in two high profile trade deadline moves. First, he was sent to the Chicago Cubs as part of the Jeff Samardzija trade. Then, he was part of the Aroldis Chapman trade.
Some of the shine came off McKinney’s prospects, and he dealt with a shoulder injury. With his being buried deep on the Yankees organizational outfield depth chart, he was included in the J.A. Happ trade.
McKinney struggles with the Blue Jays, and he was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays late last season. McKinney was claimed by the Milwaukee Brewers. He lasted all of 40 games before the underperforming outfielder was designated for assignment.
Make no mistake. This wasn’t necessarily the case of the Mets seeing something. Rather, with Michael Conforto down and Mets outfielders dropping like flies, the Mets had no other option than to obtain McKinney.
McKinney has been far better than the Mets ever could’ve imagined. Over 12 games, McKinney is hitting .275/.341/.700 with three doubles, a triple, four homers, and 11 RBI.
No, he’s not this good. No one is. However, we do see some positives from his Baseball Savant data. While he’s making a good amount of contact with increased exit velocities, it’s far too soon to adjudge if he can be the player many thought he could be when he was a top 100 prospect.
Right now, the only thing we can be assured of is he can field. Through it all, McKinney has shown himself to be quite a good fielder. If he can hit, his career is about to take off.
Fortunately for McKinney, he’s going to get the time to prove himself. Both Conforto and Brandon Nimmo are on the IL and aren’t returning soon. That allows McKinney to play everyday and to finally establish himself as a Major Leaguer.
On that note, it’s important to note he’s 26 and on the verge of the prime of his career. If he breaks out, that makes him a tremendous asset to a team as he’s under team control through 2024.
The Mets could use that. Aside from the fact this isn’t an organization deep in outfield talent, the Mets need to figure out their outfield past the 2021 season.
After this season, Conforto will be a free agent. In all honesty, he’s going to be extraordinarily difficult to sign. He’s represented by Scott Boras, and he’s basically the only All-Star caliber outfielder available in free agency. For that matter, he may be the only everyday outfielder available.
We can and should expect the Mets to do everything they can to keep Conforto. That said, we learned this past offseason with players like George Springer, the Mets have their limits, and they will walk away if they don’t believe a deal makes sense for them.
There are other factors like re-signing Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard. The Mets also have to try to figure out third base while preparing themselves for the eventual Jacob deGrom opt out.
This is all a long winded way of saying re-signing Conforto is complicated, and the Mets need a viable alternative. It’s possible that could be McKinney. Still, it’s only been 12 games.
A week or month from now, we may be begging for Conforto and Nimmo as McKinney implodes. We may also be even more excited as McKinney continues his breakout. We just don’t know.
The only thing we do know is McKinney has a chance. If he continues playing well, he’ll continue to play. If that happens, he will continue to get his chance to replace Conforto on a more permanent basis.
Time will tell.
The New York Mets got beaten up last night, but tonight, they returned the favor in a 14-1 win. The only downside was the bulk of the damage came against Matt Harvey, who the Mets pushed closer to getting DFA’d.
Pete Alonso opened the scoring with a two run homer in the first. The Mets then put five up against Harvey in the third highlighted by a Kevin Pillar three run homer.
5 ABs. 3 HRs. ?
Safe to say Pete is having a good time in Baltimore. pic.twitter.com/kaxmqEThkL
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 9, 2021
Mask off. pic.twitter.com/SiJBXklaEQ
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 10, 2021
Harvey wouldn’t pitch past the third, and Taijuan Walker was dominant. Walker pitched 7.0 innings allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out nine.
As for the Mets, they just keep on hitting. The best way to show how dominant they were is to just show the batting stats from the game:
- Jonathan Villar 2-5, 2 R, 2 2B
- Francisco Lindor 1-3, R, BB
- Pete Alonso 3-5, 3 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI
- Dominic Smith 0-5
- James McCann 2-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, RBI
- Billy McKinney 3-5, 3 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI
- Kevin Pillar 3-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI
- Mason Williams 2-4, R, HR, RBI
- Jose Peraza 0-4
Overall, the Mets hit six homers. That included Pillar and Williams going back-to-back in the eighth. Believe it or not, that was the first time it’s happened this year.
The Mets end their road trip and season series with the Orioles. They are now primed to go home and send another statement to the San Diego Padres.
Game Notes: Mets were 5-4 on the nine game road trip.
Objectively speaking, David Peterson is one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball. Among pitchers with at least 40.0 IP, he has the fifth worst ERA and 14th worst FIP.
The biggest trouble with Peterson right now is he seems to be regressing and showing little signs of coming out of this. Since that gem against the Tampa Bay Rays, he’s made four starts going 0-2 with a 9.88 ERA.
He’s walked eight and struck out 12 over 13.2 innings. That’s 3.1 innings per start. That’s what happens when batters have hit .356/.441/.644 against him. Keep in mind, this is in a year where offense is at historic lows.
Peterson’s Baseball Savant page is a disaster. He’s not generating spin on his pitches, he’s not fooling anyone, his control is poor, and batters are hitting him hard. As many have pointed out, the biggest issue is his release points.
The Visualization portion of Baseball Savant backs that up saying Peterson “tends to have very erratic release points on his pitches.”
It may very well be a matter of fixing that to permit Peterson to be the pitcher the Mets think Peterson could be. From the flashes we’ve seen, this could be a very good starter.
However, he’s not that, and with each start, he gets further from being that. At this point, we should remember Peterson had zero Triple-A starts, only made 24 Double-A starts, and he was really pressed into action last year due to the pandemic with Brodie Van Wagenen’s recklessness with the Mets pitching depth.
While some believed Peterson had a good year last year, it’s important to remember it was just 10 appearances. Also, more advanced numbers like FIP indicated Peterson was due for a significant regression.
Now, you can understand wanting Peterson to work with Jeremy Hefner. After all, by and large, Hefner has seemingly done terrific work with this Mets pitching staff. That said, for whatever reason, it’s just not clicking with Peterson right now.
The other counter-argument is the Mets don’t really have a viable starter in Triple-A to take his place. On the most obvious replacement, Thomas Szapucki, his control issues are correctly demoted.
Of course, the rebuttal is why does Peterson get to continuously falter without giving Szapucki a shot to get the benefit of working with Hefner. More than that, Peterson isn’t giving you starter innings.
On the season, he’s given the Mets 4.1 innings per start. Since May 1, that number is down to 3.2 innings. Over his last two starts, he’s pitched a total of 3.0 innings.
Every Peterson start is effectively a bullpen game. With that being the case, it would be better to call-up Sean Reid-Foley, who has thrived with the Mets in 2.0 – 3.0 inning stretches. Really, at this point, it’s inarguable Reid-Foley for 2.0+ innings is far superior to whatever Peterson is providing.
In the end, this is how you develop Mike Pelfrey 2.0. You rush a pitcher who isn’t ready to the majors. You stubbornly keep him there despite the results indicating he should be sent down. The next part is you call him a bust while completely ignoring all you did to prevent him from realizing his potential.
The Mets need to stop the stubbornness and nonsense. Peterson isn’t and wasn’t ready. He needs time. Give it to him and be ready to maybe call him up later in the season or next year.
Given how the story du jour in baseball is pitchers using substances, like pine tar or spider tack, on the baseball to increase spin, they should all be prepared to answer questions about it. There are many reasons why, including but not limited to whatever Gerrit Cole said:
Gerrit Cole on if he ever used Spider Tack while pitching:
"I don't quite know how to answer that, to be honest…If MLB wants to legislate some more stuff, that's a conversation that we can have" pic.twitter.com/2fR1AUeOQX
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 8, 2021
Honestly, that’s just about the worst answer to a question you’ll ever see. Really, the only way he could’ve made it worse was by admitting and then suggesting his success is more attributable to undetectable steroids.
To some, he admitted it. Certainly, you can make that case, and there’s spin analysis which will back that up. His discovering this ability to spin the baseball was in Houston where the Astros found new and improved ways to cheat.
While Cole didn’t admit it, he didn’t leave much room for an alternative. It at least appeared it was him or one of his teammates. Whatever is happening he just invited more attention. Really, Cole has no one to blame but himself on this one.
This answer is as bad as it possibly could be. Where it goes from here is anyone’s guess.
In the end, we can only hope he’s asked more of these questions. No, not because we need to get to the truth of the matter. Rather, this is absolutely great theatre, and we all can’t wait to see how he’ll attempt to answer it next.
Stop being an idiot. It doesn’t exist. Many have pointed to the spin on Jacob deGrom‘s pitches have been fairly static throughout his career.
His current catchers, Tomas Nido and James McCann responded to the false accusations by not only definitively saying he didn’t, but by also pondering what would happen if he did.
We saw similar support of deGrom from Marcus Stroman, Trevor May, Taijuan Walker, and others. The best response came from Kevin Pillar who said he’d bet his paycheck deGrom wasn’t. He then upped the ante by bringing it to Steve Cohen’s attention.
I’d bet my paycheck on it that he doesn’t use anything. He might be from a different planet though ? cc: @StevenACohen2
— Kevin Pillar (@KPILLAR4) June 7, 2021
Look, we know what accusations deGrom is cheating really are. It’s trying to deflect from other pitchers. It’s attention seeking behavior, and overall, it’s plain old sour grapes.
Fact is deGrom is the best pitcher on the planet, and he’s doing things only the greatest of the greats have done. In fact, he’s beating their records. Instead of trying to diminish it, we should all be appreciating his greatness.
At some point, the New York Mets need to determine what they want David Peterson to be. Do they want more of the same, or do they want to have him develop to become what they thought they were getting when the organization made him their first round pick (20th overall) in the 2017 draft.
More than that, they may need to ask how having Peterson in the majors is helping anyone. His start in the series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks indicated no one is.
After being staked to a 4-0 lead before he threw a pitch, Peterson imploded in the bottom of the first.
It was 2-0 before he recorded an out. After 35 pitches, there were only one out, and it was a tie game. At that point, Peterson needed to be relieved by Robert Gsellman.
Yes, Madison Bumgarner would knock in the go-ahead run, but Gsellman stepped up big time. He’d pitch 3.2 innings to help save the bullpen and allow the Mets to win the game.
This was Peterson’s 10th start of the season, and it was the fifth time he failed to pitch at least five innings. It was the sixth time he failed to go past five. It was also the third time he failed to go even four innings.
Taking it all into account, Peterson has been wholly unreliable. You don’t know what you’re getting from him start to start, and you don’t know when the implosion will invariably happen.
Before this start, the numbers were poor. He had a 4.63 FIP and a 79 ERA+. What’s scary is that’s with him getting some luck with a .290 BABIP.
Delving deeper, there are bigger problems. Looking at Baseball Savant, he doesn’t have much velocity or spin. Taking that into account, we probably shouldn’t be surprised he’s getting hit very hard.
This isn’t just this year. Yes, Peterson’s ERA and WHIP were better last year, but it was all an illusion. Peterson still had a 4.52 FIP, a poor K/BB, and he was getting hit hard. He was just extraordinarily lucky with a .233 BABIP.
Really, when you break this all down, Peterson wasn’t ready last year, and he shouldn’t have been pushed again this year. He needed more time to work on things, but the Mets short-sightedness interfered.
Now, we all know the counter-arguments. Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard aren’t close to returning. Thomas Szapucki probably isn’t ready. No one trusts or wants to trust Jerad Eickhoff or Corey Oswalt.
The excuses goes on and on. However, when having those discussions, the focus needs to boil down to what Peterson is.
There needs to be a realization Peterson doesn’t give the Mets what they need at least half the time. It’s probably less than that, and based on what we’ve seen lately, that may be an optimistic view of things.
No matter what you think of the plan beyond Peterson, we should be able to agree he’s not really ready for the majors. Therein lies the problem, and that’s why he should be sent down.
In the end, that’ll help him develop more than he can right now. That’s what the Mets need from Peterson. The 2021 innings can come from a minor affiliate. This is what will be best for him, and that means it’s what’ll be best for the Mets.
Last night, Arizona Diamondbacks announcer Bob Brenly had what should have been his Thom Brennaman moment. However, we didn’t get to hear Brenly talk about a Nick Castellanos, or rather Pavin Smith moment. Instead, Brenly was allowed to make his racially charged statements are carry on with the rest of the game.
Tell those shitheads you have in the booth to relax @Dbacks pic.twitter.com/6zTNiuPkBX
— MONEY MAKING METS (@Brotherwtbeard) June 2, 2021
If you are going to play the game of Brenly didn’t say anything as bad as what Brennaman said, you’re already doing it wrong. Wrong is flat out wrong. Mocking Stroman’s du-rag was wrong, and it was racist. It’s also stupid and a stain on Tom Seaver‘s good name. More than that, it couldn’t possibly have missed who Seaver was and who he idolized.
In an article by Paul Lukas of Uni Watch, he highlighted how Seaver never buttoned the top of his uniform. This wasn’t by accident. In fact, it was in honor of Willie Mays, a player Seaver idolized. As a collegiate player, Seaver had the opportunity to sit next to Mays, and seeing how Mays didn’t button his top button, Seaver would never again button his.
Looking at it, Seaver saw who he thought was the best player in the game doing something, and he emulated it. Chances are, if Seaver saw Mays wearing the du-rag, he would have done so as well. The reason is Seaver wanted to mold himself as one of the greats, and he did that in what was a unique and then bold statement to not button the top button. He did that to be like Mays. He probably would’ve done anything to be like Mays.
There is two things right now which unite Seaver and Stroman. Both are Mets pitchers. More than that, both are pitchers who strove for greatness, and they sought each and every avenue they could to become great. They are uniquely driven, and they had they own unique fashion when they took the mound. It should also be noted with the patches this year, both wore 41 on the mound.
In some ways, there is no greater honor for a pitcher than to get compared to Seaver. That goes double for a Mets pitcher. Unfortunately, Brenly did it in a disgusting and mocking way which was at best ignorant. There is no place for that anywhere, and Brenly owes Stroman and the Seaver family an apology.
More than that, the entire Diamondbacks organization does as well for letting Brenly say that on their air and to continue speaking after those statements. Stroman is a good person, and he deserves much better than this. We all do.
On May 17, Kevin Pillar was hit directly in the face by a Jacob Webb fastball. According to Baseball Savant, the pitch was 94.5 MPH.
The pitch literally left him bloodied and broken. The grounds crew would need to clean up and soak up all the blood off the field. Pillar would suffer multiple nasal fractures requiring surgery.
When dangerous moments like this happen, you wonder about a player’s career. It’s not just whether the injury will let them ever play again. It’s also a matter of the mental impact.
But, Pillar is built different. Literally two weeks after he took a fastball to the face, he was activated off the IL. He had a face mask for the field and a C flap on his batting helmet.
In his first at-bat, he let us know about the impact this will have. After a standing ovation, he had a pinch hit single.
AND OF COURSE KEVIN PILLAR SINGLES IN HIS FIRST AT-BAT BACK! pic.twitter.com/6Tqo4EL9KW
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 1, 2021
In and of itself, this is astonishing. Pillar had a scary injury, and he was not only able to return to the lineup much sooner than expected, but he was able to stand in the box and deliver a base hit.
What makes this all the more incredible is this wasn’t the first time it’s happened to Pillar in his career. In fact, it happened to him TWICE before this season.
In 2016, while a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, Pillar was hit in the bill of the helmet by a Joe Kelly pitch. Not only would he avoid the IL entirely, but he’d also stay in the game.
In 2019, while a member of the San Francisco Giants, Pillar was hit in the face with a 97 MPH fastball by Dinelson Lamet. Despite being struck square on the jaw in the first inning, he stayed in the game and avoided the IL all together.
Some of us are just built different. Pillar has the ability to stand in there and play his normal game despite getting hit with pitches which would’ve understandably ended other player’s careers.
Pillar not only has the ability to heal fast, but he has the mental toughness to get back in there. Seeing him do this multiple times, you can only conclude there isn’t anyone tougher than him.